Books About Hunter S. Thompson


The following is a list of books about Thompson, including biographies, criticism, memoirs, and also interviews. For books by Thompson, see this list and for his articles click here.

TitleAuthorPublication DateBrief Description
Hunter S. ThompsonWilliam McKeen1991Biography
Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. ThompsonPaul Perry1992Biography
Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. ThompsonE. Jean Carroll1993Half oral biography, half fantasy. A weird but valuable biography.
When The Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson: A Very Unauthorized BiographyPeter O. Whitmire1993Biography
The Joke’s Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson and MeRalph Steadman2007Memoir
Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson: An Oral BiographyJann Wenner and Corey Seymour 2007Oral biography
The Gonzo Way: A Celebration of Dr. Hunter S. ThompsonAnita Thompson2007A collection of lessons from Thompson’s life.
9 ½ Years Behind the Green Door. A Mitchell Brothers Stripper Remembers Her Lover Artie Mitchell, Hunter S. Thompson and the Killing that Rocked San FranciscoSimone Corday2007Memoir
Who Killed Hunter S. Thompson?: An Inquiry into the Life & Death of the Master of GonzoWarren Hinckle2007Collection of memoirs
The Kitchen Readings: Untold Stories of Hunter S. ThompsonBob Braudis and Michael Cleverly2008Stories from Thompson’s friends.
Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. ThompsonWilliam McKeen2008The BEST of the biographies.
Conversations with Hunter S. ThompsonBeef Torrey and Kevin Simonson2008Collection of interviews.
Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S. ThompsonAnita Thompson2009Another collection of interviews.
Hunter S. Thompson. An Insider’s View of Deranged, Depraved, Drugged Out BrillianceJay Cowan2009Memoir
Gonzo Republic: Hunter S. Thompson’s AmericaWilliam Stephenson2011The first critical study
Keep This Quiet: My Relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky and Jan MensaertMargaret A. Harrell2011Memoir
Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. ThompsonWill Bingley and Anthony Hope-Smith2012Graphic biography
Gonzo Text: Disentangling Meaning in Hunter S. Thompson’s JournalismMatthew Winston2014Critical study (academic)
Stories I Tell Myself: Growing Up with Hunter S. ThompsonJuan Thompson2016Memoir by Hunter’s son
Hunter S. Thompson: Fear, Loathing, and the Birth of GonzoKevin T. McEneaney2016Critical study (marred by too many glaring errors)
Gonzology: a Hunter Thompson BibliographyEric C. Shoaf2018Detailed bibliography
Hunter S. Thompson: The Last Interview and Other ConversationsDavid Streitfeld2018Collection of interviews.
Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American FascismTimothy Denevi2019Critical study focusing on productive years.
The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American ClassicMargaret A. Harrell2020Excellent multimedia look at the making of Hell’s Angels.
High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo JournalismDavid S. Wills2022The most comprehensive study of his work.
Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road to GonzoPeter Richardson2022A look at the creation of Gonzo.

If I’m missing anything or have gotten anything wrong, let me know at david [at] gonzo-studies (dot) com. If you have an upcoming book on Hunter S. Thompson, I’d also be happy to add it. Note that I have not included works that simply mention him. The above are all largely focused on Thompson.